OK, so my life has been really hectic this past week. I've seriously gone to school, driver's ed, come home for dinner, gone to a different high school for play practice, done my homework and gone to sleep. Actually, I'm not supposed to be home right now, I was just going to stay at the high school after driver's ed and go straight to play, but I walked home because I wanted to actually eat dinner and change out of my uniform.

Well anyway, needless to say, I haven't exactly had much time to write. This chapter was prewritten, but I might not have much time to write the next one until the play is over on March 28. Please bear with me until then. Here's the next chapter.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Everyone in the room exchanged a glance as the knocking at the door continued. Elphaba covered her face with her hood and Hunk moved to the front of their party. They all followed him to the door and he opened it, a smile firmly fixed on his face.

The guest was Hickory, another of the farmhands who had come to pay respects to Dorothy's uncle. He seemed surprised to see so many people already in the house, but his eyes widened considerably when he recognized one of them as Dorothy.

"Dorothy!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. He'd been greatly upset when she'd been missing and presumed dead. She was such a sweet girl, and it would have been terrible for her life to have been cut short that way, "Where on earth did you come from?"

Dorothy wasn't quite sure how to answer that question. Hickory had always been much more down to earth than Hunk, and she seriously doubted he would believe her tales about Oz.

She was spared having to answer by Hunk, "Turns out our Dorothy here ran away those months ago. She's been living with some friends she made, and she came back when she heard the unfortunate news." It wasn't too far from the truth, and it seemed more plausible as well.

"Well I'm really glad to see you," he said, giving her a brief hug, "You really gave all of us a scare you know."

Dorothy smiled a bit, "I'm glad to see you too Hickory."

"Dorothy?" came yet another voice, and the group looked up to see Zeke, the third of the farmhands, had appeared in the doorway, "What on earth?" Hunk repeated the story he'd made up for Hickory and Zeke also gave Dorothy a brief hug.

"At least something good came out of all of this," said Zeke sadly. All of them shared a moment of awkward silence after the statement. Glinda and Elphaba stood close together, feeling very much out of place in this little reunion.

Hickory suddenly seemed to notice the two unfamiliar women standing at the back of the group, "Who are your friends?"

"These are the friends Dorothy has been staying with," Hunk said quickly, not giving anyone else a chance to answer.

"They offered to come along with me for support," said Dorothy.

"Well, nice to meet you. Anyone who's been taking care of little Dorothy over here is a friend of mine," said Zeke. He regarded them skeptically, no doubt because of their odd choice of apparel, but nonetheless stuck out his hand and shook Glinda's enthusiastically. However, Elphaba could not show her hand, and kept them hidden in her sleeves. He looked confused for a moment when she made no move to respond to his greeting.

"Umm…she's a bit shy," said Dorothy unsurely, realizing what was happening.

Hickory said, "Ah, don't be shy here, you're among friends."

Thankfully Zeke's hand had returned to his side as he responded, "Yeah, we don't bite."

"Much," Hickory added, smiling goofily. Hunk rolled his eyes. The two of them used the stupid joke on everyone they met.

"Well," said Zeke, becoming suddenly solemn, "I think we're about ready to begin the ceremony. The priest was setting up the podium when I got here."

"Alright then, let's head outside," said Hunk, sticking his hands into the pocket of his overalls, a nervous habit of his.

The small party proceeded outside in silence. Hunk, Hickory, Zeke and Dorothy seemed to be in a state of silent remorse. Elphaba and Glinda trailed along behind, feeling a bit awkward. They felt bad for Dorothy, but they hadn't known her Uncle Henry and therefore could not feel the same grief at his passing.

They walked across the deadened yard once more, but this time it did not seem as deserted due to the small cluster of people gathered in a small group a short distance away. There was a coffin off to the side, and Dorothy began to cry silently again at the sight of it, her throat burning with suppressed sobs.

They joined the small group, which pretty much consisted of three of Dorothy's neighbors, and the six of them who had just arrived. Auntie Em and Uncle Henry hadn't really been off the farm too often, except to go into town, and so they didn't really have a close relationship with many people. Combined with the fact that they lived on a farm with not many neighbors within walking distance it meant that not many people would have turned up for the funeral. There had not been many at Auntie Em's either come to think of it, but Dorothy didn't think her aunt and uncle would have minded. They'd preferred to keep to themselves a lot anyway.

If anyone in the group was curious about the black cloaked figure and the blond woman in the tiara who had joined their party, they didn't say anything. The three other people in the group were, however; incredibly surprised to see Dorothy and she was hugged and fawned over for several minutes. Dorothy hadn't realized that everyone in Kansas had thought she was dead. She supposed that was what happened when you ran away to another world for two months, everyone just assumed the worst.

The priest called for everyone's attention, and they all quieted down. All faces became solemn as the ceremony began, and everyone who had actual known Uncle Henry stayed close together, while Glinda and Ephaba stood to the back, feeling like intruders. Elphaba clutched her hood together from the inside, afraid that someone would catch a glimpse of green from underneath. Glinda felt extremely out of place in her puffy lavender gown. Elphaba might have to hide her face, but at least she was dressed in the proper color attire.

After the sermon was finished, they were all forced to climb into a strange looking long, black machine. Glinda and Elphaba were wary, but the others climbed in without a second thought. Glinda and Elphaba finally got in after some hesitation, both thinking about how different this Kansa funeral was than the ones in Oz. The large coffin was put into another of the machines behind them, and they suddenly began to move. Glinda and Elphaba clutched the seats with wide eyes, unsure about what was going on, and Dorothy couldn't help but smile at her friends' apprehension. It was a bit funny that they could fly around on a broom or in a bubble, but they were nervous about the slow moving hearse. Eventually they calmed down enough to relax, but it seemed that neither could gather the courage to glance out the windows.

They were driven along a narrow and nearly deserted road until they reached a strange field filled with what looked like different sized stones. It was surrounded by a worn looking wrought iron fence, and the hearse pulled in. It was stopped in from of a huge hole in the ground, which was roped off and surrounded by flowers. They all went out of the car. Dorothy's face was contorted as though she was trying to keep her tears in, and one of the elderly ladies who had showed up was crying openly. Glinda and Elphaba were both wondering what in Oz was going on.

A prayer was said, and finally the coffin was lowered into the grave. Dorothy had moved over to the side and was hiding her face in her hands. Glinda and Elphaba went over and stood with her, trying to offer moral support. They did not quite understand what was going on, but they could see that Dorothy was clearly distressed, and they had a nagging suspicion about what was in that large box. The thought made them cringe.

After what seemed like an eternity, the small crowd filed back into the hearse and they left the graveyard behind. Dorothy had her eyes closed and was resting her head against the window. Elphaba and Glinda sat next to her, still a bit nervous about being in any sort of car for the first time. In Oz, horse and carriage was the most advanced way to travel.

The hearse pulled back up to the farm, and the guests stepped out, Glinda and Elphaba a bit more cautiously than the rest. The neighbors expressed their grief one last time, pulled Dorothy into a hug and, with one last curious look at the two oddly dressed strangers, they departed, all heading back to their respective homes. Now the original six of them remained.

"We should head inside and have something to eat," said Hunk, breaking the awkward silence after a few moments, "I brought some food over, come on."

With that, the group was in motion again, the six of them trudging back to the farm house with Hunk at the head. They arrived in the small entrance hall, and Hunk said, "Why don't the guys and I make dinner? You ladies can wait over in the living room."

Dorothy looked about to protest, but Glinda grabbed her arm and pulled her away, Elphaba right behind. They didn't care if Dorothy wanted to help, the less time they spent in the presence of Hickory and Zeke, the less chance there was for them to discover Elphaba's irregular skin tone. The funeral was over; if they just made it through dinner they could head back to Oz right afterward.

The three of them sat on the worn couch in the living room in silence for a while, before Dorothy spoke up, surprising her two friends.

"I can't thank you two enough for coming with me," she said quietly. Elphaba thought she might cry again, but when Dorothy looked up she was smiling slightly, "I appreciated having you two there."

"You feel any better now?" asked Glinda.

"Yes," said Dorothy, "I said what needed to be said to Uncle Henry. At least now I don't have to feel as if I abandoned him."

"I'm glad we could help. You're ready to leave after we eat though aren't you? We should probably be getting back to Oz as soon as possible," said Elphaba.

"Yes," said Dorothy, "It was nice to see my old friends again, but Oz is my home now, and I must say I'm feeling a bit home sick."

Elphaba and Glinda smiled, and the room then lapsed back into an awkward silence. After a few moments, Glinda spoke up again. "Funerals in Kansas are weird," she commented, trying to lighten the mood.

Dorothy laughed a bit, "How so?"

"Well, I mean, what was that long black thing they made us sit in? It made me dizzy," Glinda responded.

Elphaba rolled her eyes, "You ride around in those pink bubbles. If they don't make you dizzy then I was under the impression that nothing could."

"Well, look who's talking. You ride around on a broomstick. That's not exactly first class travel either," Glinda retaliated.

"Yes, but I'm not the one who said that the black machine thing made me dizzy now am I?"

"Oh please, you were as uncomfortable as I was, just admit it!"

Dorothy smiled a bit at the friends' quarrel before she decided to step in, "It's called a hearse. It's a car you use in a funeral procession. It's used to transport the guests and coffin to the cemetery."

"Car?" asked Glinda curiously.

"Cemetery…" said Elphaba, as if trying out the foreign word.

"Never mind," said Dorothy, "If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for funerals in Oz?"

"Well," started Glinda, "There's usually a short meeting at the family's home for guests and well wishers, and then the body is burned and the ashes scattered wherever the person had specified before death. Then their name is carved on a wall in one of the funeral halls so that the family can pay respects there."

"Oh, we do that too sometimes," said Dorothy, "Except for the carving the name on the wall part. But here it's more common to bury the person and carve their name on a headstone, which gets placed above their coffin."

Glinda thought this practice sounded a bit barbaric, but said nothing. Elphaba cringed a bit at the thought of being lowered into the dirt in a wooden box. They waited for a few more minutes in silence before Hunk came out of the kitchen and beckoned them in.

Well, that's all. I know, I know, incredibly boring, but I felt I needed to show the funeral. I didn't want to end the chapter there really, but it was getting long so I had to cut the rest and add it to the next chapter.

Anyway, thanks for all of the awesome reviews from last time. I appreciate them. I'll just respond to a couple now:

WickedJelly: I dunno, if I had a green woman seemingly appear out of no where and freeze me where I stood in the middle of my living room I might be a bit more accepting of Oz. Of course, that's just me.

Yeah, last year we did a skit for the talent show about what goes on before a school play, and they cast me as the dancer who didn't know her steps and kept tripping over herself. Needless to say, it didn't take much acting on my part.

Noooo! I shall be cursed forever! ; ;

The-Good-Die-Alone: Oh my God, I love Scott Westerfeld! The Uglies Trilogy and Peeps are some of my favorite books in the world, even with the strange overuse of "bubbly" and "bogus".

CurlyCurlz: Yep, that's Hunk!

Till next time S.P.